reporter: but south carolina republican lindsey graham said the measures being touted by president obama and most democrats would do little to reduce gun violence. >> the president wanted three things done. he wanted to ban assault weapons. he wanted to limit magazine sizes. and he wanted to impose a universal background check. well all three of those concepts are going to be on the floor of the united states senate for a vote, and they're all going to lose. why? because they're not the solution to the problem we all face. >> on this vote the yeas are 54, the nays are 46. >> reporter: in the end, as vice president biden presided, the background check amendment failed to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to pass. the concealed firearm measure and the ban on assault weapons. also failed. but late in the day, senate democrats-- joined by family members of victims of gun violence-- pledged to keep up the fight. >> i want everyone to understand this is just the beginning not the end. the forces so obsessed with defeating any commonsense reforms whatsoever, they lost site of big picture. >> r